Conventional means for joining a smart energy device to a ZigBee network include requiring a user to set up an account and provide identification information regarding the smart energy device to the ZigBee coordinator for the ZigBee network prior to allowing the smart energy device to join the network.
For example, one conventional method for joining a smart energy device requires a user to install an application on a computing device that is in a local area network with the ZigBee coordinator. The user is then required to set up a user account by inputting information into the application. The application identifies the ZigBee coordinator, a ZigBee gateway in this instance, in order to enable joining of the smart energy device to the ZigBee gateway. The application also prompts the user for identification information regarding the smart energy device to be joined. This identification information can include the extended unique identifier (EUI) for the smart energy device as well as an install code used to further verify the smart energy device. After obtaining this information, the application configures the ZigBee gateway to allow joining of a smart energy device matching the provided information. The user is prompted to power-up the smart energy device which causes the smart energy device to send an association request to the ZigBee gateway. If the information provided by the smart energy device matches the information provided by the application, the ZigBee gateway joins the smart energy device to the ZigBee network provided by the ZigBee gateway.